Implementing prevention programs to limit cyber …...bullying prevention and intervention plan and the progressive discipline plan” (Trillium Lakelands District School Board, 2014)

Implementing prevention programs to limit cyber-bullying in junior and intermediate grades

By

Katherine Malcolm

A research paper submitted in conformity with the requirement For the degree of Master of Teaching

Department of Curriculum, Teaching and Learning Ontario Institute for Studies in Education of the University of Toronto

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs CC BY-NC-ND license

© Copyright by Katherine Malcolm, April 2016

PREVENTING CYBER-BULLYING 2

IMPLEMENTING PREVENTION PROGRAMS TO LIMIT CYBER-BULLYING

Katherine Malcolm

Master of Teaching

Department of Curriculum and Teaching and Learning

Ontario Institute for Studies in Education University of Toronto

2016


Abstract

In this study I explore the benefits of current proactive cyber-bullying prevention

programming used in elementary educational communities. In recent years cyber-

bullying has become a new phenomenon due to quickly advancing digital world we live

in. The purpose of the research is to question: How is a sample of junior-intermediate

teachers teaching about cyber-bullying as a component of their formal curriculum, and

what outcomes do they observe from their students both inside and outside of the

classroom? My data consisted of two semi-structured interviews with teachers from

Trillium Lakelands District School Board and York Region District School Board, both

with many years experiencing dealing with proactive prevention of cyber-bullying and

community building. The findings highlighted the importance of proactive programming,

educating students of the negative effects of cyber-bullying, benefits of building a

community, and increased presence of authoritative figures, such as, police and

administration to aid in the prevention of cyber-bullying in educational communities

among junior and intermediate students.

Keywords: Cyber-bullying, curriculum, prevention, restorative


Acknowledgements

I wish to acknowledge and thank a number of people who have been a support

and inspiration through this journey. To produce something like this truly takes a

community and I was fortunate with an incredible group of people who encourage and

inspired me throughout the process.

Thank you to both my participants, Heather and Joanne. I would like to take the

time to thank you for taking time out of your busy schedules to participate in my

interviews. I finished each interview with such reflective and insightful thoughts as you

took the time to answer each question thoughtfully and passionately. You are both

clearly dedicated to your careers and care deeply about each child you meet.

Thank you to the staff and faculty of the Master of Teaching program here at

OISE. Being surrounded by the resources, knowledge and people that are contained in

this building has been an incredible learning experience. Thank you to Dr. Angela

MacDonald-Vemic and Dr. Eloise Tan, my research supervisors, for your continued

support throughout this process.

Next, I would like to thank my Associate Teachers, Georgina Solomon, Maria

Andrade and Rebeka Ly. I couldn’t have done it without your guidance. Your

enthusiasm, encouragement, critiques, motivation, patience and expertise were

foundational pieces to this research paper and to my development of confidence as a new

teacher. You have all helped me realize my potential as a learner, researcher, and

educator.

Thank you to the Junior/Intermediate graduating class of 2016 – a community of

incredible teachers. Your constant support, encouragement and inspiration were a key


factor in completing this paper. We are colleagues for life, and I hope our paths continue

to cross throughout our careers.

Thank you to my friends and family. Your love, support and encouragement were

so needed and appreciated during these last two years. Thank you to my three brothers,

Ryan, Kevin and Jeffrey. Finally, thank you to my parents, Marie and Alex; you are two

people who I continue to look up to and always able to count on for support.


Table of Contents

Abstract..............................................................................................................................3

Acknowledgements .......................................................................................................... 4

Chapter One: Introduction ............................................................................................... 9

1.0 Introduction ........................................................................................................... 9

1.1 Purpose of the Study ........................................................................................... 12

1.2 Research Questions ............................................................................................. 13

1.3 Background of the Researcher ............................................................................ 14

1.4 Overview ............................................................................................................. 15

Chapter Two: Literature Review ..................................................................................... 17

2.0 Introduction ......................................................................................................... 17

2.1 Types of Bullying ................................................................................................ 19

2.1.1 Similarities and Differences...................................................................... 20

2.2 The Impacts of Cyber-Bullying on Students’ Feelings ....................................... 21

2.3 What Are Teachers Doing? ................................................................................. 22

2.4Teachers Beliefs about Bullying .......................................................................... 23

2.5 What Could Teachers Be Doing? ....................................................................... 24

2.5.1 Health and Physical Education Curriculum Document ............................ 27

2.6 Challenges Teachers Face ................................................................................... 27

2.6.1 Appropriate Timing .................................................................................. 28

2.6.2 Technology ............................................................................................... 28

2.7 Gaps in Literature ............................................................................................... 29

2.8 Conclusion .......................................................................................................... 30

Chapter Three: Research Methodology ........................................................................... 32

3.0 Introduction ......................................................................................................... 32

3.1 Research Approach and Procedure ..................................................................... 32

3.2 Instruments of Data Collection ........................................................................... 33

3.3 Participants ......................................................................................................... 34

3.3.1 Sampling Criteria ..................................................................................... 34

3.3.2 Sampling Procedures ............................................................................... 35


3.3.3 Participant Bios ........................................................................................ 35

3.4 Data Analysis ..................................................................................................... 36

3.5 Ethical Review Procedures ................................................................................ 37

3.6 Methodological Limitations and Strengths ........................................................ 38

3.7 Conclusions ........................................................................................................ 39

Chapter Four: Findings .................................................................................................... 40

4.0 Introduction ........................................................................................................ 40

4.1 Cyber-bullying Indicators .................................................................................. 41

4.1.1 Students’ Age and Grade ......................................................................... 41

4.2 Impacts of Increasing Technology ..................................................................... 41

4.2.1 Digital World ........................................................................................... 42

4.2.2 Digital Classroom .................................................................................... 43

4.3 Authoritative Roles and Resources .................................................................... 44

4.3.1 Police Presence ........................................................................................ 44

4.3.2 Visible Administrative Support ............................................................... 46

4.4 Programming Strategies and Protocols .............................................................. 47

4.4.1 Community Building and Restorative Circles ......................................... 47

4.4.2 School-wide Protocols ............................................................................. 49

4.4.3 Integrated Curriculum Prevention Programming .................................... 50

4.4.4 Empathy ................................................................................................... 52

4.5 Conclusion .......................................................................................................... 53

Chapter Five: Discussion................................................................................................. 56

5.0 Introduction ........................................................................................................ 56

5.1 Overview of Key Findings and Their Significance ........................................... 57

5.2 Implications ....................................................................................................... 58

5.2.1 Broad Implications .................................................................................. 58

5.2.2 Narrow Implications ................................................................................ 60

5.3 Recommendations ............................................................................................. 62

5.3.1 Educators ................................................................................................. 63

5.3.2 Elementary Board Personnel ................................................................... 63

5.3.3 Administrators ......................................................................................... 64


5.4 Areas for Further Research ................................................................................ 65

5.5 Concluding Comments ...................................................................................... 67

References ....................................................................................................................... 69

Appendices ...................................................................................................................... 76

Appendix A – Consent Form ....................................................................................... 76

Appendix B – Interview Protocol ................................................................................ 79


Chapter 1: INTRODUCTION 1.0 Introduction to the Research Study

Amanda Todd was a 15-year old girl from British Columbia who took her own

life in 2012 as a result of relentless cyber-bullying (National Post, 2012). Following her

death, a heart-wrenching flashcard video created a month prior by the teen went viral.

She expressed the pain she went through and how others treated her because of a photo

she shared with someone online that she felt she could trust (National Post, 2012). This

tragic event only begins to display the experience of numerous teens who have taken their

own lives due to cyber-bullying. John LeBlanc (2012) reported between 2008 and 2012

there were 41 suicide cases linked to cyber-bullying in Canada.

A universal definition of cyber-bullying does not yet exist, however, the Ministry

of Education defines cyber-bullying as

“bullying by electronic means, including “(a) creating a web

page or a blog in which the creator assumes the identity of

another person; (b) impersonating another person as the author

of content or messages posted on the Internet; and (c)

communicating material electronically to more than one

individual or posting material on a website that may be accessed

by one or more individuals” (Department of Justice, 2015;

Ministry of Education: Health and Physical Education, 2015; p.

229).

Cyber-bullying also involves “the use of information and communication technologies to

support deliberate, repeated, and hostile behaviour by an individual or group that is


intended to harm others” (Baht, 2008, p. 54). Cyber-bullying is a prevalent issue in

today’s society, as illustrated by Murphy et al. (2012) suicide is ranked as the third

leading cause of death for youth between the ages of 10-24. Bullying at school is wide

spread and a major issue that affects many students. All genders, social classes and ages

are affected by cyber-bullying (Smith, 2013). According to research done by the

Government of Canada (2014), 1 in 10 teens claim to have experienced being bullied

online. Moreover, more than one-third of Canadian teens on social media have seen mean

or inappropriate comments about someone they knew. Experts have reported that cyber-

bullying appears to be increasing in severity and prevalence, and is progressively

involving more vicious behaviours and deadlier outcomes than in previous years

(Kowalski, Limber, Limber & Agatson, 2012; Hoff & Mitchell, 2009).

The media constantly addresses these concerns and the ultimately tragic endings

students of varying ages are taking to end their lives. Cases such as 15-year old Amanda

Todd, Jenna Bowers, Courtney Brown and 17-year old Rehteah Parsons are a few

examples of young teen victims of cyber-bullying choosing to end their lives (Auld,

2013). Leah Parsons, mother of young 17-year old Rehteah Parsons, states, “the online

world can be very desensitizing and [she] feel[s] that empathy for others is lost” (Woods,

2014). With the increase of technology and the digital world we live in, cyber-bullying is

beginning to affect youth more and more (Baht, 2008)

The new Health and Physical Education curriculum (2015) provides teachers with

new information on how to proactively introduce prevention programs into the

curriculum that can assist educators dealing with the issue of cyber-bullying. One in four

students stated that within a three-month span, they had been involved in cyber bullying,


being either the perpetrator and victim (Mishna, Khoury-Kassabri, Gadalla & Dacuik,

2012). The school system, teachers, and administrators have traditionally not seen cyber-

bullying as an issue as relevant to them because it is not necessarily visible in a

traditional classroom (Smith, 2013). Some of the factors that facilitate cyber bullying

among children include the anonymity afforded by technology, the impracticality of

consistently monitoring children’s devices and the range of communication media they

are using (Bonanno & Hymel, 2013; Chibbaro, 2007).

In the research conducted thus far, it is apparent that some schools are taking the

initiative to begin the implement preventative programs into their classrooms. Most

school boards in North America have anti-bullying policies and programs. Specifically

the Trillium Lakelands Distract School Board (TLDSB) and York Region District School

Board (YRDSB) encourages incorporating policies, awareness campaigns, and

counseling to promote bully prevention and also intervention programming (Chibbaro,

2007). The TLDSB and YRDSB has created a Caring, Safe and Accepting Schools Team

to help “foster a safe, inclusive and positive school climate. The purpose of this team is

the development, annual review and implementation of the school code of conduct, the

bullying prevention and intervention plan and the progressive discipline plan” (Trillium

Lakelands District School Board, 2014). Bill 13 subsection 170(1), specifically, of the

Accepting Schools Act, is designed to “establish and provide annual professional

development programs to educates teachers and other staff of the board about bullying

prevention and strategies for promoting positive school climates” (Government of

Canada, 2012). Speaking to current research, it shows that 1 in 4 students will experience

bullying in schools, yet only a minority of teachers feel prepared for responding to


bullying occurrences. Currently, by encouraging educators to become trained and

increase their level of competence, approaches to prevent these actions from occurring

could help to discourage this negative behaviour (Rivers & Noret, 2010).

Certainly, parents are beginning to pro-actively ensure that their children are not

abusing their online privileges and it is not only the responsibility of the teachers and

educators in schools to prevent cyber-bullying. Although it can be challenging for

parents to keep up with technological advances, it is imperative to ensure Internet safety

for their children (Baht, 2008).

Due to the fact that cyber-bullying is a relatively new phenomenon, with little

history to learn from, schools and school boards are only recently beginning to implement

online safety and ways to discourage cyber-bullying into their prevention policies,

programs, and curriculum (Ferguson, Miguel, Kilburn & Sanchez, 2007; Stauffer, Heath,

Coyne & Ferrin, 2012; Couvillon & Ilieva, 2011). Current programs have proved to be

ineffective in changing students’ behaviour throughout time (Ferguson et al., 2007). In

several studies conducted, it is evident that teachers view cyber-bullying outside the

purview of their responsibilities, schools are struggling with how to regulate students’ use

of devices and anti-cyber bullying policies are not translating into school-based practices

(Baht, 2008; Chibbaro, 2007; Hinduja & Patchin, 2012).

1.2 Purpose of the Study

The purpose of this study is to learn how a sample of educators in TLDSB and

YRDSB are implementing preventative cyber-bullying programs as a component of the

formal curriculum. By interviewing educators who are working first hand with


preventative and proactive rather than reactive, programs, I hope the findings can inform

continued educational programming around cyber-bullying in schools and classrooms

more broadly.

From this study I hope to learn what effective methods educators are using to pro-

actively prevent cyber-bullying in their communities. I anticipate addressing the

programs already enforced in schools to raise awareness and prevent cyber-bullying but

also to observing ways in which educators are building a pro-active community to help

cope with current bullying situations and to prevent future individuals from participating

in cyber bullying.

1.3 Research Questions

The primary question guiding this research study is: How is a sample of junior-

intermediate teachers teaching about cyber-bullying as a component of their formal

curriculum, and what outcomes do they observe from their students both inside and

outside of the classroom?

Subsidiary questions include:

1. How do these teachers conceptualize cyber-bullying and what indicators of it do they

observe in their classrooms and school?

2. How do these teachers connect the topic of cyber-bullying to the formal curriculum?

Where do they see it aligning with the official curriculum?

3. What instructional strategies and approaches do these teachers enact to teach about

cyber-bullying?

4. What resources and factors support these teachers work in this area?


5. What challenges do these teachers encounter and how do they respond to these

challenges?

1.4 Background of the Researcher

My first experience hands on as an educator with this topic was while I was

teaching figure skating lessons. A young girl at the club was continuously texting

inappropriate and negative messages to another young girl who was in the same

classroom as her at school. This also began to translate to the ice surface causing tension

between not only the two skaters but among other individuals in the club who felt

uncomfortable. After discussion with myself and the other coach, both skaters and their

parents, the final decision was for the skater who was bullying the other skater to switch

clubs to help create a welcoming and positive environment where everyone felt welcome.

I felt this was the best decision to create a comfortable environment for everyone who

was involved. Not only was it unfair to the two girls involved in the situations it was also

unfair to the other skaters who were losing coaching time while myself and the other

coach were constantly having to deal with situations.

I also worked with a young girl in grade 3 who did not necessarily ‘fit-in’ with her

peers. She was constantly teased and she would retaliate to try to seek revenge because

she did not know any other coping strategies. I observed that not much was being done

inside the classroom to stop this behaviour on both sides. There were, from my

understanding, no programs put into place at this school to teach students about the

consequences of cyber bullying. It opened my eyes to how little was being done in this

school and made me very anxious to want to do something about it. As I volunteered as a

mentor for this little girl for two years I began to discuss with her the importance of being


nice to others and respect for others and ourselves. I do believe that I could have made

an impact in her life and I hope I am able to do that to others.

As a new teacher this topic is extremely important to me because I want to ensure

I am, to the best of my ability, creating a positive and welcoming environment for all my

students who walk through the doors of the school and also within my community. With

technology continuously advancing it is important for me to continuously be aware of

any situations that may arise in my classroom to the best of my knowledge. I want to

ensure I am incorporating awareness, methods and prevention strategies into my

teaching. It is not only important to me to ensure my students are knowledgeable about

cyber bullying and how it can be prevented and why it should be eliminated but also

other educators around me. I envision being able to educate both adults and students

about prevention programs to ultimately reduce cyber bullying around the world. By

incorporating cyber bullying into the curriculum and making it mandatory that educators

educate their students from elementary school through high school I do believe there

could be a decline in the amount of tragic endings we see. Cyber bullying is a genuine

concern and with little history behind this developing phenomenon, prevention programs

need to be mandatory. With the technological advances and society constant use of

electronics and staying connected at all times cyber bullying is so influential on the social

standards of individuals. I hope I am able to expand by breadth of knowledge as I

continue to research this topic and become well educated on prevention programming.

1.5 Overview

Chapter 1 includes the introduction and purpose of the study, the research


questions, along with my involvement with this topic and study. Chapter 2 contains a

review of the literature discussing cyber bullying and prevention. Chapter 3 provides the

methodology and procedure used in this study including information about the sample

participants and data collection instruments. Chapter 4 identifies the participants in the

study and describes the data as it addresses the research question. Chapter 5 includes

limitations of the study, conclusions, recommendations for practice, and further reading

and study. References and a list of appendixes follow at the end.


Chapter 2: LITERATURE REVIEW

2.0 Introduction

In this chapter I review the literature in the areas of cyber-bullying, prevention

programs and what educators and school personnel are doing to implement these

programs. More specifically I review themes related to programs that have already been

put into place as well as ideas or educational information available on bullying and cyber-

bullying. I start by reviewing the literature in the area of what cyber-bullying is and I

consider the differences between it and traditional bullying. Next, I review research on

what we know about students’ feelings on cyber-bullying and some signs the bullying

may be occurring. I then review what educators are currently doing in response to cyber-

bullying and examine whether there is a possibility for more proactive approaches.

Finally I focus on what we do not know about cyber-bullying and prevention programs

and questions that have arisen throughout my review of the existing literature. In

particular, I highlight the idea that the vast majority of the literature that exists today was

conducted by researchers rather than educators, meaning the educators’ voices have not

been heard (Ttofi & Farrington, 2011).

Cyber-bullying—a fairly new phenomenon—involves the use of electronic

communication to bully a person (Baht, 2008). With recent technological advances such

as text messaging and social media platforms, cyberbullying can occur virtually

anywhere. These new social forums provide bullies an opportunity to remain anonymous

when being destructive and pose many challenges for educators and school

administrators to provide a safe school environment (Myers, 2011). Mason (2008)

expresses that both traditional and cyberbullying are “unacceptable antisocial behaviour


that can undermine the quality of the school environment, affect students’ academic and

social outcomes, cause victims emotional and psychological trauma, and, in extreme

cases, lead to serious violence” (p.323). Smart phones are devices that allow access to all

social media forums and are commonly possessed and operated by children during school

hours. Although smart phones might be necessary for a child to have so they may

communicate with their parents, they are then available to be used at anytime for cyber-

bullying without supervision.

Most studies on traditional bullying found to date focus on the severely negative

impact it has on young individuals and their social development (Hoff & Mitchell, 2009).

While traditional bullying and cyberbullying may have many similarities, the effects of

cyber-bullying on social development have not been extensively studied. Given that

many of today’s adolescents are being raised in environments where phone calls and

human interaction are replaced with text messaging and social media updates, it is

imperative that more work is done in this area. While it may seem safe to conclude that

the effects would be similar to traditional bullying, the often public and “always on”

nature of current social media platforms means that most victims can no longer find any

form of reprieve even in their own homes (Patchin & Hinduja, 2006). The cyber-world is

borderless and goes beyond the schoolyard (Diamanduros et al., 2008).

School-wide programs have been shown to be effective in preventing

cyberbullying in classrooms and school environments (Pearce, Cross, Monks, Waters &

Falconer, 2011, Cross, Waters & Hamilton, 2011; Rigby & Slee, 2008). Educators can

make students more aware of the dangers of cyber-bullying and the implications this


behavior has on both the victim and the bully’s lives. Wolfer, Schultze-Krumbholz,

Zagorscak, Jakel, Gobel & Scheithauer (2014) discovered that

“when students are educated concerning the consequences of their

behaviour, encouraged to reflect their virtual activities, and guided to

train behavioural alternatives, these preventative actions – embedded

within a structured and comprehensive program – unfold their full

effectiveness and evidentially reduce cyber-bullying behaviour”. (p.

885)

This demonstrates that educating students through programming about the consequences

cyber-bullying can have is beneficial to reduce cyber-bullying from happening. Students

see this as a valuable tool to assist in developing preventative actions to dissolve actions

of cyber-bullying from taking place (Wolfer et al., 2014).

2.1 Types of Bullying

To be bullied is described by Olweus (1991, 1993) this way: “a person [who] is

being bullied when he or she is exposed, repeatedly and over time, to negative action on

the part of one or more other persons” (p.412). Traditional bullying may include verbal,

physical or relational forms of aggression to another individual (Wang, Nansel &

Iannotti, 2010). Often there is an intention to harm the victim, a power differentiation

between that individual being bullied and the individual carrying out the bullying where

the bully exerts his or her physical power over a weaker or smaller individual (Olweus,

1991; Atlas & Pepler, 1998). Shariff, Crump, Yoder, Galczynski, Bleakney & Natanblut

(2005) describe cyberbullying more generally as bullying that can be “conveyed by


adolescents and teens through electronic media such as cell-phones, websites, web-cams,

chat rooms, and email” (p.459). An example of cyber-bullying could involve a mean and

threatening text message sent from one individual to another. Traditional bullying

however is usually physical and takes place face-to-face. It is imperative that educators

and school personnel are doing their best to stop this behaviour.

2.1.1 Similarities and Differences

Similarities illustrate that it is apparent that both bullying and cyber-bullying are

associated with malicious intent and harassment by typically aggressive individuals who

seek pleasure by mistreating others (Patchin & Hinduja, 2006). Both are regarded as

mistreatment that involves “harmful behaviour of a repetitive nature” (Patchin &

Hinduja, 2006, p. 152) and have the potential to “damage a young person’s feelings, self-

esteem, reputation and mental health” (Government of Canada, 2014). Ybharra &

Mitchell (2004), claim that both online and offline bullying can stem from an individual

with aggression.

However, traditional bullying is limited to times when physical proximity is

possible, cyberbullying can affect an individual anywhere at anytime. Cyber-bullying is

seen as a more pervasive extension of traditional bullying. The difference between

traditional bullying and cyber-bullying largely comes down to the use of electronic

devices. According to Patchin & Hinduja (2006), cyber-bullying is defined as “willful

and repeated harm inflicted through the medium of electronic text” (p.152). It is not just

the fact that it is difficult for victims to find a time of escape from cyber-bullying, but the

Internet can be used completely anonymously and can lead to more aggressive or


inappropriate behaviours (Ybarra & Mitchell, 2004; Law, Shapka, Hymel, Olson &

Waterhouse, 2012).

Aggression does not necessarily mean physical aggression and can be both

elusive and subtle, regardless of the form of bullying educators need to be aware and alert

when these actions are taking place in their classroom environment (Rivers & Smith,

1994). Educators who are aware of cyber-bullying have the ability to create a safe

environment for their students where they feel comfortable being themselves without the

fear of others attacking them in the classroom or on social media (Baht, 2008).

2.2 The Impacts of Cyber-bullying on Students’ Feelings

Since the cyber-world can be accessed virtually anywhere at any time, Shariff et

al. (2005) suggests that the learning environment of a victim is negatively impacted.

There is urgency for immediate attention towards cyber-bullying. Immediate attention

may reduce negative consequences and future problems. Countless students who are

bullied do not feel comfortable sharing their victimization with others, and instead prefer

to keep what is happening to themselves—an unfortunate decision that can make matters

worse as the feeling of isolation is exacerbated (Diamanduros, Downs, & Jenkins, 2008).

Therefore it is important to realize that teachers cannot wait for the problem to be brought

to them and need to be vigilant to ensure they see the signs that a student is in trouble.

Students are not speaking out and instead internalizing their fears till their breaking point

(Bonanno & Hymel, 2013).

Current literature has found that traditional bullies are typically male, however,

when it comes to cyberbullying, there is no difference between males and females. It is


more likely however that they are in high school rather than middle or grade school

(Ybarra & Mitchell, 2004). Cyber-bullying causes a decrease in remorse felt by bullies

towards their victims (Green-Forde, 2013). Further research conducted by Slonje, Smith

& Frisen (2012; 2013) have found that up to 70% of traditional bullies felt remorse for

their actions while only 42% of the bullies who used cellular devices and computers felt

remorse for what they did, concluding that cyber-bullying presents less of an opportunity

for bullies to feel any empathy towards the other individual. It is important to increase

this statistic and show bullies the harm and pain they are causing others when choosing to

take part in cyber-bullying.

2.3 What Are Teachers Doing?

Currently, the literature is fairly sparse when focusing on prevention programs

being implemented in schools and among educators. The majority is based on reactive

rather than preventative methods. Research has found that schools and teachers tend to

typically address cyber-bullying in a reactive, rather than proactive, manner

(Diamanduros, Downs & Jenkins, 2008), and this approach can be detrimental for cyber-

bullied students.

Recent literature presents findings that school psychologists are typically the ones

addressing the issue of cyberbullying (Myers, 2011). Diamanduros et al. (2008), explain

that school psychologists are in a unique situation as they are looked to for promoting

awareness, assessing severity, developing and planning prevention programs as well as

implementing programs. While it is important that school psychologists assist educators

in dealing with cyberbullying, it is the teachers in the classroom who are in a unique


position to prevent cyberbullying from becoming a prevalent issue in their classrooms

before it begins (Diamanduros et al, 2008).

Cyberbullying is typically addressed as an educator sees fit and not incorporated

into the current curriculum. Recommendations for prevention are made by Diamanduros,

Downs, & Jenkins (2008) for educators to use at their own disposal but it was not

mandatory in TLDSB and YRDSB until the revised Health and Physical Education

curriculum was recently released (Ministry of Education, 2015). Some examples of

prevention strategies and resources are to provide teachers with formal workshops, online

information tools and brochures that can be used as effective tools to train educators and

school personnel to deal with any situations that may surface (Diamanduros, Downs, &

Jenkins, 2008). However, these are all suggestions and it does not necessarily mean

school personnel and educators will use the resources and tools provided at their

fingertips. As Myers (2011) suggests, school personnel are encouraged to become leaders

in advocating how individuals can become empowered to not stand around and allow this

behaviour to be acceptable and not turn a blind eye. Students need to feel comfortable to

stop cyberbullying and bullying in general if they observe or experience the negative

conduct. The issue with these suggestions are just that, they are merely suggestions and

not mandatory to be incorporated into the curriculum and classrooms.

2.4 Teachers Beliefs about Bullying

Teachers who are female and educate younger children have been found to

express more concern about cyber-bullying in their classrooms (Eden, Heiman &

Shemesh, 2012). The researchers also found that special education teachers felt stronger


about confronting cyber-bullying than those who taught in mainstream classrooms (Eden

et al., 2012). When teachers are faced with cyber-bullying in their classroom, according

to research conducted by Stauffer et al. (2012), approximately 50% felt they were likely

to “report incident to school administrators” (p. 361) however only 20% would “talk with

the cyber-bully” (p. 361) and 30% would “talk with the victim” (p. 361).

2.5 What Could Teachers Be Doing?

Stauffer et al. (2012) determined strategies for teachers to implement in order to

eliminate or discourage cyber-bullying from happening in their education community. A

few suggested strategies teachers felt could be implemented include, educating the

students, limiting access to electronics in the classroom, educating the parents and getting

the support from parents (Stauffer et al., 2012). Anti-bullying programs are often found

effective and are frequently associated with a decrease in bullying and victimization that

occurs (Ttofi & Farrington, 2011). Programs that are more intense are typically more

effective, such as school-wide policies, programs, meetings (Ttofi & Farrington, 2011).

Educators could be working alongside other school personnel to create effective

programs for their school to eliminate or decrease to amount of cyberbullying taking

place.

Research suggests school psychologists and teachers need to collaborate to create

classroom presentations, activities, and conversation about cyberbullying that the

teachers can carry out or co-lead with other educators and/or school personnel (Hinduja

& Patchin, 2008; Chibbaro, 2007). Policies being developed require drawing on high-

quality evidence-based programs that have been proven effective. Ttofi and Farrington


(2011) found that most research done to date has been developed for school-wide anti-

bullying policies, and while it is difficult to prove the effectiveness of these programs

definitely, the evidence seems strong that these programs can be valuable and successful.

Educators need to involve parents to help provide successful programs crucial to

address problems and concerns within the school community (Diamanduros, Downs, &

Jenkins, 2008; Chibbaro, 2007). Parents have access to some great resources for

themselves to become leaders and their children. The Government of Canada (2014) Get

Cyber Safe provides parents with ideas to address this issue such as talking with your

child about cyberbullying, knowing what is happening online and the online behaviour

your child is taking part in, knowing passwords, setting some ground rules and

restrictions for their safety. This is important for parents of bullies, victims and

bystanders. Teachers, students and parents all need to work together to keep an open line

of communication and continue to educate each other with any new information about the

issues of cyber-bullying and what everyone can do together to eliminate the action from

occurring in their communities. Leah Parson—the mother of Rahtaeh Parson who was

sadly a fatal victim of cyberbullying—expressed what she and others feel is a large

reason for many students’ increased willingness to direct harmful messages towards their

fellow classmates. She stated “we live in a digitized would that is not going to change.

The online world can be very desensitizing and I feel that empathy for others is lost” (The

Canadian Press, 2014).

While cyberbullying cannot always be prevented, it is important to be aware of

the signs of someone being bullied such to prevent such tragic cases. Some of the signs

include: unexpectedly stops using their device, or appears nervous around the use of their


device, becomes withdrawn from family and friends and begins losing interest in things

they used to show interest too, avoids being online or discussing what they do online,

becomes secretive about things they do online, and begins to frequently call home from

school pretending to be ill (Hinduja & Patchin, 2015). These are simply just a few of the

warning signs to look for if you suspect your child or someone you know if being cyber-

bullied.

When students were asked whether they would report if they were cyber-bullied

“less than 18% responded “Probably yes,” and over 80% answered “No” (Li, 2010,

p.380). Here are the signs – A student who fears using a computer, does not want to

share what they are doing online, internalizes their emotions, etc. may all be indications

the student is being in some way harassed (Bonanno & Hymel, 2013).

Hinduja and Patchin (2007) have identified some further warning signs educators

can look for, including, the student may suddenly stop using their computer, may appear

to be anxious when they receive a message or email, seem upset or frustrated when using

electronic devices and may become visibly uncomfortable about going to school or

hanging out with friends and they may even completely avoid talking about what they are

doing while they use a computer. Signs such as these are ways students are showing

without verbally telling anyone that something may be going on. School personnel need

to pay attention for warning signs to assist those students who feel they do not have a

voice or are uncomfortable confronting an adult (Hinduja & Patchin, 2007).

Educators need to feel comfortable in identifying these situations and to feel that

they have the tools to approach a student to ask if they are being bullied and respond

appropriately considering Li (2010) states, almost 50% of students “did not think the


school would or could do anything to stop [the bullying] (p.380). Although these are

reactive forms in regards to cyberbullying, it would be careless to believe all prevention

programs will work perfectly and completely eliminate cyberbullying.

2.5.1 Health and Physical Education Curriculum Document

The revised 2015 Health and Physical Education curriculum first introduces students to

the risks of technology in Grade 4 under Personal Safety and Injury Prevention C1.2 and

C1.3, where they learn to “identify risks associated with communications technology

(e.g. Internet and cell phone use, including participation in gaming and online

communities and the use of text messaging), and describe precautions and strategies or

using these technologies safely” and “describe various types of bullying and abuse (e.g.

social, physical, verbal), including bullying using technology, (e.g., via e-mail, text

messaging, chat room, website), and identifying ways of responding appropriately

(Ministry of Education, 2015, p. 140). Students in Grade 5 are then taught to “continue

to ask for help until [you] get the help [you] need” (p. 156) from an adult they feel

comfortable trusting (Ministry of Education, 2015). The release of the new curriculum

begs the question, how will teachers respond to the ministries revised expectations?

2.6 Challenges Teachers Face

While this research demonstrates that there is a range of challenges teachers face,

it is still unclear how they are beginning to respond to these. Cyber-bullying has only

newly been researched, the literature tends to focus more on what educators can do and

recommendations to control this behaviour once cyberbullying has become an issue in

their classroom. Literature is slowly beginning to address prevention programs for


educators to use (Myers, 2011; Shariff, 2008; Slonje, Smith & Frisen, 2013; Pearce et al,

2011; Ferguson et al, 2007).

2.6.1 Appropriate Timing

The longer a teacher puts off discussing the negative effects of cyber-bullying to

their classroom and in their school community the effectiveness of the program will

decrease (Beale & Hall, 2007). Students need to understand that the Internet and social

media is a public space and although something may be in a private message, there is

potential for this information to get out to others. Informing students at an early age

about the consequences and enforcing these rules could deter young individuals from

choosing to take part in negative behaviour happening in this predominantly virtual world

(Ferguson et al, 2007; Beale & Hall, 2007). Providing students with practical criteria for

what truly is out of line on the Internet may help students understand what is and is not

okay to post online or send to others and what crosses the line.

2.6.2 Technology

Should cellular phones be banned? Should the wifi in the schools block the use of

social media? Technology can be a threat in the school but since the students are already

using it, it may be best to incorporate it as a beneficial tool. Using different ways to teach

cyberbullying may help to get the message across to more students. Technology can be

used as an instructional tool if educators show students safe ways to use the Internet and

understand the consequences that go along with the misuse of technology (Cramer &

Hayes, 2010). Technology is a privilege - not a necessity.


2.7 Gaps in Literature

It is important to realize that since cyber-bullying is a new topic and there are

many gaps in our current knowledge. It is important for parents to understand “what to

look for, as well as, “talk the talk”” (p.11) if they want to be successful in protecting and

monitoring their children’s online activity (Beale & Hall, 2010). The majority of the

literature on the subject is speculative in nature as there has not been sufficient time to

perform detailed studies of a variety of programs and their effectiveness. This problem is

intensified by the fact so many children who are being bullied suffer in silence (Li, 2010),

and so it is incredibly difficult to get accurate information not only on the effectiveness of

programs, but the number of students affected in the first place.

An easier problem to solve, but still requiring further analysis is how many

teachers are currently implementing programs to prevent cyberbullying and the nature of

these programs. Once this is determined, it would be important to determine to what

extent cyberbullying can be prevented (i.e. do certain methods lower the number of

students being bullied, all else being equal). Also, since it is not possible to prevent in all

cases, we would want to investigate the effectiveness of various reactive methods being

used by teachers.

In general, the studies that have been presented to date tend to have limited

sample sizes and rarely account for the different demographics of the students affected

beyond male/female.


2.8 Conclusion

In this literature review I looked at research on cyber-bullying, prevention

programs, and ways in which educators and school personnel deal with this phenomenon.

This review highlights the increase in the number of cyber-bullying events taking place,

and the attention being paid to the problem by researchers and educators. It also shows

that attention has focused on programs that could potentially help address ways to

eliminate or decrease cyber-bullying. Is also raises questions about what programs are

pro-actively preventing cyber-bullying and whether or not educators are being

preventative or reactive.

This literature review also points to the need for further research in the areas of

what constitutes an effective program and what educators are incorporating into their

classrooms. Future research needs to include new policies being developed so educators

must incorporate prevention programs into the curriculum rather than have the choice to

address the issue if it becomes a predicament. The significance of this study is to identify

further research that needs to be conducted, to determine what educators are pro-actively

doing to prevent cyber-bullying in their communities and to discuss how they are

implementing these programs effectively.

Very little literature to date has explored clear and specific programs that are

being put into place by educators, and examined their effectiveness across a variety of

regions, genders and age groups. It is essential that more studies are performed in order to

get a better sense of what can be done to prevent the issue of cyber-bullying from

negatively impacting more students’ lives. I will begin to unravel strategies current


educators are using to proactively prevent cyber-bullying from taking place in their

educational communities.


Chapter 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

3.0 Introduction

In this chapter I describe the research methodology. I begin by reviewing the

research approach and procedure, followed by a summary of the interviews conducted as

a data collection methodology. I continue by describing participant sampling criteria,

procedures and a brief bio about each participant. I will then describe the methods I will

use to analyze the data. Finally, I conclude with a summary of important methodological

decisions and reasons why I chose to make these decisions to help explore the research

purpose and answer my research questions.

3.1 Research Approach & Procedure

This study was conducted in order to examine the possibility of integrating

proactive prevention programs as a component of formal curriculum to limit cyber-

bullying. The nature of my research is based on qualitative analysis of semi-structured

interviews with TLDBS and YRDSB educators and in-depth literature review.

For my literature review I focused on past cyber-bullying cases and programs

introduced by school boards. I will conduct two or three face-to-face interviews with a

teacher and a guidance counselor who are in the front lines of proactively preventing

cyber-bullying in their communities. Once the interviews have been completed I will

analyze and transcribe my data accordingly

In terms of the value of qualitative research, I turn to Creswell (2013) who stated,

“the key idea behind qualitative research is to learn about the problem or issue from the

participants and engage in the best practices to obtain that information” (p. 47). I believe


that the combination of literature review and semi-structured interviews will meet these

best practice guidelines. The literature review will allow me to develop and discuss a

framework of understanding for cyber-bullying as a broad problem for educators

everywhere. The semi-structured interviews, on the other hand, will provide valuable

insights into the unique problems faced by currently practicing educators by using open-

ended questions and allowing participants to lead the discussion down routes that a

literature review alone might not cover.

3.2 Instruments of Data Collection

I conducted two semi-structured informal interviews using recording devices to

ensure all data is accurately collected. I asked open-ended questions to ensure responses

with depth in their explanations and to uncover unique perspectives that a literature

review alone might be not include. Interviews began with questions to get to know the

participant, build rapport and develop a more comfortable relationship.

The freedom of semi-structured interviews allowed the participants to elaborate and

give more detail to areas, which they find are most important about cyber-bullying, areas

that I may not have considered before beginning the interview portion of the research.

Interviews in this fashion allowed for questions to be asked throughout the interview and

allowed the participant to expand on areas they felt necessary.

Semi-structured interviews allowed for reflective practice and participants to

evaluate and reflect on their personal teaching preparation and performance (Thornsen &

Devore, 2013).

A few questions asked were:


1. Can you tell me what teaching position you have and how long you have been

teaching?

2. What does cyber-bullying mean to you?

3. How do you incorporate cyber-bullying prevention within the curriculum and cross-

curricular programs?

3.3 Participants

Here I review the sampling criteria I established for participant recruitment, and

look at a range of possible approaches to educator recruitment. I have also included a

subsequent section for short bios of the participants.

3.3.1 Sampling Criteria

I will sample two educators who:

- Are middle school teachers

- Are from the TLDSB and YRDSB

- Actively implementing cyber-bullying prevention programs

- Demonstrate leadership, commitment and/or expertise in cyber-bullying

I chose to sample these participants because they are actively and effectively using

proactive cyber-bullying prevention programs in their formal curriculum to help

eliminate cyber-bullying in their schools and/or communities. Middle school teachers

from the TLDSB and YRDSB are important to focus on because these boards pride

themselves by taking whole school approaches from caring, safe and accepting schools

(Toronto District School Board, 2014 & York Region District School Board, 2015). It

was important that these teachers demonstrate leadership, commitment and/or expertise


because I wanted to ensure these teachers have a breadth of knowledge in the area and

have demonstrated positive influences and their methods are well developed to further

help other teachers and educators.

3.3.2 Sampling Procedures

To recruit participants I relied on convenience sampling and purposeful sampling

by contacting principals, school boards and/or educators who I had been in previous

contact with. I contacted, specifically, staff who are working for safe schools at the board

level and instructional teachers in charge of enacting the safe schools and anti-bullying

mandate.

Being immersed in a teaching community, I was able to rely on existing contacts as

well as develop new contacts to recruit the most knowledgeable participants in cyber-

bullying throughout the TLDSB and YRDSB. I provided my name and contact

information rather than ask individuals to provide me with contact information of suitable

participants to ensure educators were volunteering and not feeling as though they were

obligated to participate. The strengths of convenience sampling is that it is quick and can

save time and effort however, a limitation is that it may not represent the population

(Creswell, 2014). Purposeful sampling includes participants because they are able to

“purposefully inform an understanding of the research problem and central phenomenon

in the study” (Creswell, 2014, p.156).

3.3.3 Participant Bios

I researched this topic in an Ontario context by interviewing two elementary

teachers: one from Trillium Lakelands District School Board and one from York Region

District School Board. Both were female and caucasian. The participants have been in


the field of education for many years and have established effective teaching strategies to

use in their daily classrooms. Heather and Joanne, both continue to have the drive to

grow as educators and constantly add to their wealth of knowledge. Both have

experienced cyber-bullying in their school communities and dealt with various situations.

3.4 Data Analysis

After completing my interviews and collecting my data I began reading and

rereading the transcribed interview data using my research questions as an interpretive

lens. I focused on identifying categories of data and then interpreting themes. Once

themes were discovered I began coding my data and chunking common themes together,

which was done by using coloured highlighters. According to Huberman and Miles

(1994), researchers should identify recurrent themes and report how many times they

occur in the data. I wrote key words and bracketed important quotes throughout the data

and composed a detailed description with sub themes for each major theme. I also found

it important to review the divergence in the data and any ‘null data’ recorded or lack

thereof.

Once I transcribed the interviews and completed the process of identifying

significant themes throughout, I began the meaning-making process. This was guided by

the themes I identified as important to the topic of cyber-bullying and focused

particularly on root causes and the effectiveness of proactive approaches versus reactive

approaches in the presentation of cyber-bullying. I compared the responses received by

the interviewees against the findings of the literature review to determine to what extent

the approaches and successes of individuals align with the analyses of past research.


3.5 Ethical Review Procedures

To ensure that the privacy of the participants is kept confidential, all transcripts and

correspondence have been kept private and locked. The ethical review procedure I

followed was taken directly from the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education of the

University of Toronto, Department of Curriculum, Teaching, and Learning Masters of

Teaching program. The letter of consent was provided and the terms of the research

project were reviewed before the formal interview took place.

Once the interview was transcribed, the participant was given a chance to review

the document and given a copy of the agreement for their records. Both participants were

told they had the right to withdraw from the study at any point until the day it was

submitted and were offered a copy of the findings if they choose. Participants have the

right to chose not to answer any questions they do not feel comfortable answering.

A pseudonym was given to each participant to ensure confidentiality. Only the

researcher and the participant themselves are aware of the original names and all

institution names have been removed from the transcripts. There are no known risks to

participants involved in the study. The benefit of the participation in this project was to

allow educators to explain in detail their own teaching practices that involve the use of

proactive prevention of cyber-bullying and share their own effective experiences in hopes

of educating other teachers and school personnel about prevention cyber-bullying

techniques beneficial in their communities.

The data will be stored in a secure computer for five years and my course instructor

and I will be the only one with access to the files. Any identifying information or details

about the participants will be excluded from the data.


3.6 Methodological Limitations and Strengths

There are a few limitations associated with this study. The first limitation of my

study is the small number of participants I was able to interview. Educators are from the

Trillium Lakelands District School Board and the York Region District School Board and

that also constricts the a variety of range of teachers from different school boards. Only

studying teachers in Ontario—let alone only two school districts—constitute a potentially

significant geographical limitation.

I also only interviewed educators among elementary grades, limiting the age range

studied. Since I was only able to interview adults their may be a bias towards an adult

standpoint on the issue of how effective their programs are. Not having the ability to

interview students and receive feedback about their experiences of cyber-bullying is

likely a limiting factor of the research and its ability to reach definite conclusions about

the effectiveness of cyber-bullying prevention programs.

A time constraint is another factor that could have prevented my research from

being more thorough, learning about more instructional approaches, looking at more

demographics and school boards to eliminate bias, and identifying changes to the

problem over time.

A final limitation involves the lack of research currently published about this new

phenomenon.

A direction for future research may be to cross-analyze practices among various age

groups and various school boards as a school board such as the Catholic school board

may be able to incorporate cyber-bullying lessons into the religion course.


3.7 Conclusions

In Chapter 3, I will have reviewed the research approach and procedure, my

instruments of data collection, and shared a few questions asked in the interviews. I have

discussed my participants and their backgrounds in the education system and explained

my data analysis and how I coded my interviews. I have also discussed my ethical review

procedures and limitations and strengths to my research. Next, in chapter 4, I report the

research findings from the interviews.


Chapter 4: FINDINGS

4.0 Introduction

The findings for this study were assembled from the two interviews conducted

with experienced teaching professionals. Both participants incorporate proactive

prevention programs for cyber-bullying and were open to discussing how they

implemented these practices in their own classrooms as well as their plans for further

development of similar programs in the future. In order to ensure all participants remain

anonymous, pseudonyms, Heather and Joanne, have been given and the names of schools

have not been disclosed in this study. This chapter will provide thorough descriptions of

all data collected from both interviews and the point of view from both participants when

necessary.

Following the completion of both interviews and a close analysis of the transcripts

I was able to identify four key interconnected themes. These themes—and their

subthemes where appropriate—will proceed as follows: students’ age and grade,

technology, authoritative roles and resources and programming strategies and protocols.

4.1 Cyber-bullying Indicators

4.1.1 Students’ Age and Grade

4.2 Impacts of Increasing Use of Technology

4.2.1 Digital World

4.2.2 Digital Classroom

4.3 Authoritative Roles and Resources

4.3.1 Police Presence

4.3.2 Visible Administrative Support


4.4 Programming Strategies and Protocols

4.4.1 Community Building and Restorative Circles

4.4.2 School-wide Protocols

4.4.3 Integrated Curriculum Prevention Programming

4.4.5 Empathy

4.1 Cyber-bullying Indicators

4.1.1 Students’ Age and Grade

The age and grade of students at which cyber-bullying begins to present itself is

extremely important in order develop the most effective prevention programming.

Following both interviews, both Joanne and Heather, who teach junior and intermediate

grades indicated that in their experience cyber-bullying was most prevalent around grades

five to eight. Joanne also mentioned that police have indicated cyber-bullying begins “in

grade 7 and 8” and she agrees “that’s a fairly common starting time”.

In connection with my literature review, the Ministry of Education (2015) first

introduces students to the risks of technology in Grade 4 under Personal Safety and

Intervention C1.2 and C1.3, coinciding with the early years of both participants’

observations in their years of teaching. Given the responses from both participants, this

age would seem to align well with taking preventative measures against cyber-bullying

before it begins.

4.2 Impacts of Increasing Use of Technology

Technology is not only changing in our personal lives and the world around us but


it is also rapidly changing classrooms. It seems inevitable that devices will continue to

increasingly surround our daily activity. From both interviews conducted I was able to

gain a better understanding of how my participants effectively used devices in their

classrooms and taught students how to use them effectively. Both the digital world and

the digital classroom are changing rapidly and it is important for teachers to be well

informed about the technology being brought into their classrooms.

4.2.1 Digital World

As the digital world rapidly expands and new technology is introduced into our

society monthly and daily it is difficult to always keep up with the new trends. This in

turn leads to issues for individuals who are not necessarily familiar with online safety.

Participants both felt that the world is rapidly changing and it is fundamental they prepare

students with ways to behave in society with regards to technology.

Joanne admits she needs to be aware of how our students are seeing the world and

prepare teaching resources for them, both so they have access to information about cyber-

bullying and awareness of their digital footprint. She believes continuing to inform

students of ways to responsibly use technology and its potential negative repercussions

can be beneficial to helping students understand why they should not cyber-bully

someone.

Baht (2008) supports the idea that with the increase in technology and the digital

world we live in, cyber-bullying is beginning to affect youth more and more.

It is imperative teachers keep up to date on the latest technology and social media, such

as Instagram, Snapchat, etc. Challenges can arise because in this day and age students

are so connected to their phones but Heather feels that if she stays up to date with how


students are using these apps and online sites, she can better understand how to educate

the students in terms of how to properly and responsibly use them.

4.2.2 Digital Classroom

Another major obstacle teachers may encounter is the use of cellular devices in this

fast evolving digital world. Cellular devices can both inhibit and distract students from

learning. They however, can also be a beneficial tool in classrooms depending on how

they are used and if they are used effectively.

In her interview, Joanne indicated the rules surrounding the use of cellular devices.

She discussed how with her class she would come up with the rules of the school year in

order for the students to understand she shared their appreciation of the potential

beneficial uses of mobile devices and that they had a voice in what they believed with fair

and unfair. One rule she passionately advocated and which has now has turned into a

school-wide policy is a “let me see your device" approach.

In this approach, if an adult in the school asks to see a student's phone at any time

during class, a student must show them the phone immediately to ensure proper use for

that specific task at hand. If a student was misusing their device for purposes outside of

the learning, their phone was immediately taken away for the day. A second time caught

would lead to the phone being taken away and speaking with the principal or vice-

principal. Obviously, this has worked in her school and students realize that although it

is their own personal device they are not to be using it for personal or social media–

related uses during class time.

It is impractical to be constantly checking students' devices and the range of

communication media always at their fingertips (Bonanno & Hymel, 2013; Chibbaro,


2007). Heather agrees that it is impractical to have your eyes on every single students

device at all times which is a valid concern. Joanne's "let me see your device" approach

seems to be a sufficient middle ground to make students think twice before they use their

devices to bully another individual, especially during class time.

All in all, it is clear that personal technology devices can be a beneficial tool for

other subjects without the concern of students using their devices to bully if teachers

make a point of showing students how important it is to recognize safe ways to use the

Internet and help them gain a better understanding of the consequences that align with

misuse (Cramer & Hayes, 2010).

4.3 Authoritative Roles and Resources

There are multiple resources available to teachers to educate them on bullying in

the schools as well as support available in the assistance of educating young individuals.

For instance, police presence in the school and visible administrative support for teachers

and students to prevent and assess unfortunate cyber-bullying instances. With the

opportunity to learn from valuable resources—developed from other teachers' past

experiences—teachers are able to better focus on how to integrate cyber-bullying

prevention into the curriculum and allow for authoritative personnel to delve deeper into

real-life scenarios and the legal consequences that could follow.

4.3.1 Police Presence

Both participants discussed an approachable and useful police support in their

schools. Heather specifically speaks of a Values, Influences and Peers (VIP) police

officer while Joanne mentions her school's two community officers. In both schools, it is


clear that the students are familiar with the police officers in the school community.

Joanne explains how “they become a contact person the child feels that they can go to if

they have something happen, and they don’t feel comfortable speaking with an adult in

the school”. Not only are they there to deal with situations that arise, but they also teach

the students about the legal consequences of partaking in cyber-bullying activity. They

are also there to share stories of how cyber-bullying has affected other individuals in

negative ways. By sharing these stories, Heather feels the students become more

engaged in finding ways to eliminate the horrific act of online assault.

Students are ultimately able to have a better understanding of the matter and this

opens many new doors for teachers to teach about cyber-bullying as a component of their

formal curriculum. Joanne, for instance, integrated a prevention program into her media

literacy and health lesson and eventually developed the lesson into a written and oral

communication assessment.

There is no literature I found with regards to police presence in schools that

support the teaching of cyber-bully prevention. Police, in my literature research, were

typically only involved in situations where cyber-bullying had already taken place. They

were there to mediate, resolve and deal with legal issues.

The significance of police presence is that both participants found the police who

came in on a regular basis—to teach lessons to the students and familiarize themselves

with the community so students felt comfortable speaking with them— have always had

a positive outcome. In their experiences, these police work diligently to support teachers

in the attempt to deter students from partaking in illegal behaviour.


4.3.2 Visible Administrative Support

Another valuable resource for teachers to use is the administrative support around

them. Educators don't necessarily need to be present in order to proactively prevent

cyber-bullying but they are also there as support in a time of need.

A major theme uncovered during my data analysis was the visibility of

administrative support as a resource for educators. They do not necessarily play a

prominent role in the prevention of cyber-bullying but make themselves available in

times of need. While this can be useful, in my opinion significantly more can be done by

administration to become active participants in preventing—rather than reacting to—

cyber-bullying and one of the biggest changes that can be made in schools is to address

this gap.

Currently, according to both participants, the administration does not appear to play

a prominent role in the prevention of cyber-bullying. According to Joanne, only once a

case of cyber-bullying has been identified is it brought to the attention of administrators.

This approach lies in direct contrast that of teachers, who are actively including proactive

cyber-bullying lessons into their daily curriculum. In order to resolve this imbalance

between school authorities, Heather and Joanne recommend that both teachers and

administrators be encouraged to expand their professional development by attending

workshops to enhance their understanding of cyber-bullying prevention and on how to

take a more proactive role in their schools.

Trillium Lakelands District School Board required teachers to receive Restorative

training (a program designed to assist teachers in leading therapeutic discussions amongst

the class) as an initiative for how to manage situations that are related to all forms of


bullying, and any other conflicts. Joanne displays a dedication to using this practice in

her classroom and shows how effective it can be. She shares that she believes, “there is

something calming about restorative circles everyday because it’s really calming. There

is consistency for them and me. They know regardless of what situation happened, the

same process would be taken. I think there’s comfort in that”. Restorative circles appear

to be efficient in getting to the bottom of situations and allowing students to express

emotions before problems arise; they create a better sense of community.

Administrators in the school environment can also act as support system for the

students. If they are visible to the students and coexist with teachers as an approachable

and caring adult, the students are more likely to feel safe (Stauffer et al., 2012). Although

administrators tend to have less of a role in teaching students the prevention of cyber-

bullying, their main role appears to be helping teachers with the challenge of fully

investigating and addressing the incident as immediately as possible.

4.4 Programming Strategies and Protocols

When asked questions regarding effective strategies used by the participants in their

classrooms to prevent cyber-bullying, both participants provided answers that aligned

with current literature. These were inclusive of community building and restorative

circles, integrated curriculum prevention programming, teacher guidance and fostering

empathy.

4.4.1 Community Building and Restorative Circles

Community building and restorative circles emerged as major methods both

participants deemed beneficial to assist in preventing cyber-bullying in their classrooms.


Joanne exhibited this when she mentioned that her class does restorative circles every

morning, and discusses how her class uses them:

“We have a restorative circle every morning, where we pass a talking stick,

and we give ourselves a rating on a scale of 0-5. Just so that everyone has

that constant connection with each other, and they know how each other is

feeling. We share a lot of information, so that when problem solving is

needed, they’re used to it. They’re used to sittng down and talking things

out […] I think that overall, is just creates a sense of trust.”

Clearly, Joanne exemplifies dedication to ensuring her students feel a sense of safety and

respect in her classroom. Restorative circles are not only used prior to bullying incidents

but also used when bullying takes place. For example, Joanne had an incident where a

student took a photo of another student making a bunch of faces and took those photos

and created captions of her saying sexual things. Joanne explains the situation “was dealt

with very seriously be the school, by administrators, and then the police came in”.

There was another situation a few years ago between students from two different

schools. Restorative circles were used in this case to allow both sides to express their

feelings and talk it out with adults present. The students were able to share how they’ve

been harmed, what happened and what they’ve thought about since that happened with

the stakeholders of the situation. It gives a chance for kids to make things right, and to be

able to move on with dignity and to be able to face that person again.

Heather also has a similar approach in the sense that she is a firm believer in

community building not only at the beginning of the school year but also throughout.

She commits to “have students learn in a safe and caring environment” and believes in


using “Tribes, a community building program within [her] classroom, which develops

our four community agreements (Right to Pass, No Put Downs, Attentive Listening and

Mutual Respect) and continuously offers a variety of activities and lessons to reinforce

these agreements”. This highlights the notion that a safe environment where the students

feel as though they are connected to a community are beneficial instructional strategies

and approaches that allow teachers to teach about cyber-bullying effectively. Heather

stated that “it doesn’t take a teacher very long in their career to see the need to help

students develop effective conflict resolution skills” in order to help these students deal

with any situation that may arise.

Ferguson et al. (2007) and Beale and Hall (2007) find that by informing students

at an early age about consequences could deter them from choosing to partake in this

negative behavior. Both educators also commit to professional development and are

continuously going to workshops in order to further educate themselves on community

building and anti-bullying strategies to use in their classrooms and in their schools. By

gaining further knowledge they are then able to help other teachers in their school

community to also put these techniques into practice.

4.4.2 School-wide Protocols

Although each teacher may enforce cyber-bullying differently in their classrooms,

it is important to also review school-wide policies in place to prevent cyber-bullying

among the school community. Both educators make it apparent that there are prevention

strategies and protocols outlined in the students’ agendas. Although the schools provide

these, Joanne mentioned that the agenda is “not really addressed as an isolated protocol.

It’s more about just general respect, and times where students aren’t following respectful


behavior. Then it’s given as an example” rather than having any specific protocols

addressing cyber-bullying.

Currently many school boards have policies put in place to foster safe, caring,

inclusive environments for the students to learn (Trillium Lakelands DSB, 2013 & York

Region DSB, 2015). Trillium Lakelands DSB (2013) specifically has a 5 Step Bully

Response Strategy. They recognize that bullying does occur and how important it is for

teachers to tell children that they must report these incidences as well as to ensure they

know that support is always available.

York Region DSB commits to educate staff and students how to recognize,

respond and resolve bullying incidences, communicate a strong message to students,

parents, and educators that bullying is “everyone’s problem and everyone’s

responsibility” (York Region DSB, 2015), and to trust the Board Anti-Bullying Strategy

put in place.

These school-wide protocols coincide with the support schools are provided with

from local police departments, such as the VIP program in Heather’s school and the

community officer in Joanne’s school.

4.4.3 Integrated Curriculum Prevention Programming

Since both Joanne and Heather are dedicated to implementing proactive prevention

programs for cyber-bullying in their classrooms, the programming is weaved within the

curriculum. Both Joanne and Heather respectfully make connections to cyber-bullying in

literacy while teaching about character traits and feelings. Heather uses strategies such

as, poetry or diary entries and Joanne also encourages students to express what that

character may be feeling by connecting it to how they might feel in that situation.


Similarly, strategies that Heather and Joanne find to be beneficial to help their

students to recognize how taking part in cyber-bullying can negatively affect others

around them. Heather further articulated she encompasses proactive prevention cyber-

bullying techniques in drama through the use of facial expressions and portraying a

variety of recess situations that could occur in order for students to understand the best

way to deal with cyber-bullying if it may occur while students have access to their

phones throughout the school day. This is a clear example of how teachers can connect

the topic of cyber-bullying to the formal curriculum although not mandated by the

Ontario government, answering one of my subsidiary questions.

Comparable to recent changes in the Health and Physical Education curriculum

document, students are taught in earlier years about the importance of online safety and

identifying the risks associated with misuse. However, in no other curriculum documents

is it required to teach about cyber-bullying or communications technology. This is a

concerning issue because it does not necessarily mean teachers will be using resources or

tools provided by the Health and Physical Education document to weave this prominent

issue into other aspects of the curriculum.

Participants felt that they typically had to use their own resources to integrate

teaching about cyber-bullying into the curriculum. Certainly, with programming, in

terms of what resources we could use to teach our students about digital footprints, and so

on. I think it should be part of the curriculum. I think that would be the number one

support, for our government to say, “This is really important, you have to teach it”. This

connects to the question of where teachers see cyber-bully prevention aligning with the

official curriculum and how it should be incorporated into the formal curriculum.


Heather feels this would help to further support the education system.

4.4.4 Empathy

Developing a comprehensive anti-bullying program to create an empathetic

classroom environment is necessary in order to allow the students to feel safe and

discourage bullying of any sorts. A program such as the restorative circles program

Joanne has increasingly used in her classroom from a board wide professional

development program, addresses the issues of emotional and physical feelings before the

bullying takes place.

Comparable to Joanne, Heather also uses techniques to provide a safe, caring

classroom environment by allowing students to enact a variety of scenarios to work

through and develop a positive problem solving approach. If students are able to

recognize the influences cyber-bullying has on everyone and the positive impact

providing anti-bullying encouragement and fostering empathy has, school communities

will begin to be able to continue to eliminate cyber-bullying.

Another approach Joanne uses is celebrating the success of students standing up

to bullies. She uses a “wait a minute approach”, is which she tells students who

encounter a situation, “when you get frozen, and you know it’s not right, and in your guy

it’s wrong, just say, “Wait a minute,” then everyone will look at you, because you’ve just

said that. This gives you the second to collect your thoughts and say, “I don’t think he

would have felt very good hearing you say that” or “Not okay, don’t talk that way”,

something simple”.

It was clear through my research that cyber-bullying presents less of an opportunity

for students to feel empathy towards another individual opposed to typical face-to-face


bullying (Slonje, Smith & Frisen, 2012; 2013, Woods, 2014). Undoubtedly, it is

important to demonstrate to students the significance empathy can have on an individual.

Evidence from both participants shows that there is success to celebrate when others are

able to display empathy for others and stand up for their peers.

The previous instructional strategies and approaches discussed clearly enlighten

future educators on how the use proactive prevention strategies to help discourage the

decision to partake in cyber-bullying activity in any manner.

4.5 Conclusion

This chapter examined four themes and nine sub-themes that were established

subsequently examining data collected from two interviews I conducted with my

participants. The first theme is cyber-bullying indicators partnered with students’ age

and grade. This is important to examine when cyber-bullying becomes more prominent

among youth. Impacts of increasing use of technology are accompanied by sub-themes

digital world and digital classroom. The third theme investigates the authoritative roles

and resources looking more in depth into police presence and visible administrative

support. Finally, the theme programming strategies and protocols overarches community

building and restorative circles, school-wide policies, integrated curriculum prevention

programming and lastly, empathy.

In general, these themes and sub-themes I analyzed relate to each other as the

participants both addressed them when asked how they create and support an integrative

proactive cyber-bullying approach in their classrooms and school communities. Both

Heather and Joanne spoke about techniques and approached they found were most


effective, particularly specific tactics and resources they used. Joanne and Heather

consistently focused on similar approaches and they had comparable support from their

respective schools and community police officers. This may stem from the fact that both

participants are at the forefront of integrating prevention for cyber-bullying into their

curriculum rather than following through with reactive actions.

Themes, such as, community building exercises and having safe and caring

environments appeared numerous time together throughout the data. This may be the

case because in order to have a classroom environment where students feel safe and

respected, community building needs to take place. Joanne made this particularly clear

as she spoke about the consistent use of restorative circles and educating students on

being open with each other and expressing how you are feeling.

Another stand out theme was how imperative the community police officers can be

to sustaining a school that has zero tolerance for cyber-bullying. Joanne and Heather

explicitly state how essential their presence in the school is. This closely connects back

to creating a safe and caring environment for the students. With these officers constantly

in the schools, students are able to develop relationships with them and familiarize

themselves with another authoritative figure who they feel comfortable confiding in.

Additionally, the police officers are available to help in the teaching of online safety and

the consequences that follow if anyone is to partake. Both participants were grateful to

have them as a resource on hand for not only the students but also supporting other

educators.

Following my analysis, I have found that my findings have some connections to

my literature review in my study. The Ministry of Education (2015), and both


participants illustrate that a proactive approach is beneficial for students in the long run.

Introducing online safety in Grade 4 and beginning to inform students on how to protect

themselves is valuable. My findings begin to indicate that schools should be starting to

use the proactive approach early in a school year but also early in grades. Both

participants mentioned they felt Grades 5-8 experience the most cyber-bullying so if they

are well informed before this age it will deter them from this behaviour.

With these considerations in mind, there appears to be a push to continue to

develop and create multiple ways to weave lessons on cyber-bullying into the curriculum.

This study, in particular, has examined how teachers a proactively preventing cyber-

bullying in their classrooms and methods they use to inform students about this emerging

phenomenon. The next chapter will further explore approaches highlighted in this

chapter. I will discuss broad and narrow implications, recommendations, and areas for

further research.


Chapter 5: IMPLICATIONS

5.0 Introduction

The purpose of this study was to examine the how educators are proactively

integrating cyber-bullying prevention techniques in the curriculum. The main research

question posed by this research study was: how is a sample of junior-intermediate

teachers teaching about cyber-bullying as a component of their formal curriculum, and

what outcomes do they observe from their students both inside and outside the

classroom? Subsidiary questions included: 1) How do these teachers conceptualize cyber-

bullying and what indicators of it do they observe in their classrooms and school? 2) How

do these teachers connect the topic of cyber-bullying to the formal curriculum? Where do

they see it aligning with the official curriculum? 3) What instructional strategies and

approaches do these teachers enact to teach about cyber-bullying? 4) What resources are

available to support teachers’ work in this area? 5) What challenges do these teachers

encounter and how do they respond to these challenges?

To explore this topic I conducted two semi-structured interviews with educators

from Trillium Lakelands District School Board and York Region District School Board.

The themes that emerged from an analysis of the interviews and material on the subject

included: cyber-bullying indicators (students’ age and grade), impacts of increasing use

of technology (digital word and classroom), authoritative roles and resources (police

presence and visible administrative support), and programming strategies and protocols

(community building and restorative circles, school-wide protocols, integrated curriculum

prevention programming and empathy).

This chapter will serve to summarize the main focus of the study and the ways in


which it can be connected to the key findings. It will continue with a discussion of broad

and narrow implications for the educational community and my own teaching practices,

followed by recommendations for other educators, their practice, administrators, and

other educational professionals. Next, I will focus on areas for further research and

finally concluding comments.

5.1 Overview of Key Findings and Their Significance

My findings have shown that techniques and approaches used by educators who are

at the forefront of proactive cyber-bully prevention use community building exercises

and have safe, caring classroom environments. The presence of community police

officers was an essential finding and was consistently present in the classrooms of

educators that successfully prevent cyber-bullying and sustain a school that has zero

tolerance for cyber-bullying.

The Ministry of Education (2015), and both participants have found that a

proactive approach to cyber-bullying prevention is beneficial for students in the long run.

The Health and Physical Education (2015) curriculum document introduces online safety

in Grade 4, and as participants both stated they felt cyber-bullying began around grades

5-8. This validates that this is an important age to introduce the consequences linked to

cyber-bullying both as a perpetrator and a victim.

Another important finding of my research is that educators need to be advocates for

the students in their community. Both Heather and Joanne felt it necessary to develop a

strong sense of community and belonging in their classrooms to create empathy for

others in order to discourage the act of cyber-bullying. They believe this is necessary


because if they are able to teach the children how to treat others with respect and

kindness, with an awareness of the negative effects of treating people wrongly, they are

able to build a safe environment.

One possible issue in systematically preventing cyber-bullying appears to be that

educators are not mandated to take professional development courses outlining the

benefits of proactive prevention programming. Instead, they are able to incorporate and

introduce the issue of cyberbullying as they see fit or if they feel it is necessary or

warranted without educational professional development. This can often lead to a more

reactive approach, only introducing the idea of cyber-bullying to students in response to a

specific instance. My findings strongly suggest that the reactive method is not as

beneficial to the students as proactively building a safe and caring community from day

one to ensure students feel comfortable, accepted and valued.

5.2 Implications

After two years researching ways in which educators are proactively preventing

cyber-bullying in their school communities, I have come to realize how essential

community building truly is. Additionally, after spending time interviewing my two

participants and analyzing their data, I have a larger understanding of the challenges

educators can face in order to put a stop to cyber-bullying. The discussion below will

outline broad implications that relate to the educational community, along with narrow

implications that relate to myself as a teacher and as a researcher.

5.2.1 Broad Implications

The prevention of cyber-bullying in schools should be seen more holistically that it


seems to be today. For this to happen, it is imperative for administration to be seen by

students as collaborating with teachers in the cultivation of a safe and caring

environment. Furthermore, having police officers coexist with both administration and

teachers helps to foster an environment, which can be seen as collaborative, professional

and nurturing of each other and the students, they are responsible for. This collaboration

on a regular basis, not just for a specific program or initiative, exhibits to students that

these adult professionals are consistently working together for the betterment of the

school environment, making it a safe and inclusive place to learn, grow and, if need be,

go for help. These interactions do not always have to be specific sections of core

curriculum but evident in daily or frequent connections that are witnessed by the students

as the norm rather than the exception.

Building community is not always something that happens naturally and people’s

core principles and values can factor in to the success of these endeavours. To ensure that

community building occurs in an effective way, the best approach is to implement

mandatory professional workshops, which will provide educators with the tools and skill-

building resources they require to effectively help in building strong communities. While

there will remain differences in how this is most effectively done depending on

demographics, personalities and other individual circumstances, it is absolutely possible

to provide resources, tools and support networks to be consistently effective in all

schools. Development of mandatory professional educational opportunities with

participation from other experts (police, mental health, medical professionals, etc.) could

provide a network for learning and a system for trust and ongoing collaboration, which

will further enhance support of the immediate school and the students within. Information


on how other teachers have seen success in their classrooms and the free exchange of

ideas will allow the best solutions to be found and implemented by all, and for these

solutions to evolve over time as the technology shifts and classroom behaviours continue

to change.

5.2.2 Narrow Implications

The broad implications as discussed also influence my own teaching practices and

me as a future researcher. As a beginning educator I need to help pave the way to

inclusive classroom environments free from cyber-bullying in this quickly emerging

digital world. With a vast variety of students it is important to create ground rules around

respecting others, the environment and ourselves. Not all students come from the same

background, value system or family lifestyle. Every student is unique, has something to

offer to the whole and I realize this is what creates a beautiful classroom.

I need to be aware of how students are treating others in the classroom and on the

schoolyard. Understanding that while students are outside the classroom, they are still

my responsibility and I need to protect and educate them on respectable behaviour in the

schoolyard and beyond. Furthermore, I should try to be conscious of potential issues

arising in the classroom or out in the schoolyard and to remediate them before they erupt

into something further. To facilitate this, I need to make it a priority to create a trusting

space where all students feel they can openly communicate with me to achieve solution

based problem solving.

I have come to the understanding that one of the greatest privileges of teaching is

building those relationships between myself as a teacher with my students. It is

imperative to create a community from day one to ensure my students feel as though they


can talk about their feelings and ask questions without fear of being judged. This

philosophy and practice leads to me being an advocate for my students and for the school.

I also want to build on one key suggestion from Joanne—the use of restorative circles.

Not only in my classroom, but having a space at lunchtime where, if students need to

talk, they are welcome to join together to build a stronger community. By doing so, I

hope to further educate others how bullying and social isolation can hurt both the victim

and the perpetrator. As they grow and mature, students need to better understand how it

can feel to be victimized, the symptoms of victimization and why there are legal

consequences that coincide with negative and hurtful actions.

As a classroom teacher, not only will I utilize circles to build community, but will

weave this learning into my curriculum. The methodology I use will depend on context

and may consist of doing skits in Drama, creating posters and commercials in Media

Literacy, writing passages from a victim and perpetrator’s perspective in Literacy. All

methods will be focused on creating a sense of empathy as well as learning about,

identifying and helping reduce the veil of secrecy surrounding this societal problem.

Older students can build their learning by completing research and building

evidence and statistics on the frequency of reported cases of bullying, unreported but

identified cases, identifying and studying schools with anti-bullying initiatives, asking

inquiry questions on how to lower the statistic of students’ cyber-bullied and formulating

suggestions for ongoing identification and programming.

By taking these actions, students will ultimately learn to show respect and

empathy towards others as they move from elementary to postsecondary school. They

will acquire personal and practical skills to use technology in a respectful manner without


harming others. Prior to this study, I was unclear how to integrate cyber-bullying

prevention into my pedagogy without having stand-alone lessons. I now understand how

to integrate techniques into my daily practice and how it is much more than just teaching

students about cyber-bullying (the act) rather than how to be a well rounded, empathetic

and caring individual (the philosophy).

As a researcher, I plan to continue to study effective strategies to create the best

possible environment for all. My research does not end here because while I have found

some excellent examples and strategies to use, I believe my own strategies will continue

to evolve as I enter my career as a teacher. My research has provoked a curiosity and

desire to continually develop as an educator and put myself at the forefront of community

building and anti-bullying education.

5.3 Recommendations

It is important for educators to recognize the importance of preventing cyber-

bullying from taking place in their school communities to ensure a safer environment for

students to learn. Through interviews, Joanne and Heather made it clear that by

promoting a community that does not tolerate cyber-bullying, students develop more

empathy, respect and tolerance towards others and develop healthier means to share their

feelings, frustrations and fears with their peers. Educators are able to create this

environment by incorporating community building and collaboration into their

classrooms, not only periodically, but continuously throughout the entire year.

Community circles are one effective strategy educators can use to demonstrate to

students the importance of empathy toward others and treating our peers with respect. A


more consistent and approachable police presence or community officer in the school

with whom the students develop a positive relationship and are comfortable around can

help decrease the amount or instances of cyber-bullying taking place.

The following are recommendations that educators, elementary board level

personnel, and administrators can implement in order to build community and create a

safe welcoming space.

5.3.1 Educators

Educators are at the forefront of proactively preventing cyber-bullying from taking

place because they are interacting with students every day. My major recommendation is

for educators to be building community to make the students feel comfortable. Educators

need to familiarize themselves with the digital world and how technology is rapidly

changing in the digital world and the digital classroom.

By educating themselves, they are better able to inform their students about online

safety and the negative effects cyber-bullying can have on youth more and more

frequently (Baht, 2008). A suggestion from Joanne to co-construct rules surrounding the

use of cellular devices with your class can give voice to the students to share what they

also believe to be fair and unfair. Technology devices can be beneficial tools for

educators but it is essential that extra steps be taken to guide students on safe ways to use

the Internet and understand consequences associated with misuse.

5.3.2 Elementary Board Personnel

Along with educators, board personnel also need to implement substantive policies

around cyber-bullying. The 2015 Health and Physical Education curriculum has paved

the way for educators to begin to integrate online safety strategies for students beginning


in grade 4 and consistently re-examining and developing a better understanding of how to

protect individuals online.

My recommendation would be that Boards mandate all educators’ attend

professional development sessions each year to familiarize themselves with new

technology and practical skills for protection and detection. Trillium Lakelands Board

does require teachers to participate in Restorative training, but this is only mandated

infrequently.

Given the speed and reach of our digital world, these issues need to be consistently

addressed and I strongly recommend instituting a policy of annual attendance rather than

only once every few years. A policy that all educators and schools must be proactively

preventing cyber-bullying from taking place will discourage students from taking part in

this harmful and illegal behaviour. Furthermore, if the board supports educators and

allows time in the school day for community building, this provides educators with the

ability to strategize and enhance these programs with supportive community partners as

well as helping to create more positive classroom environments in a broader sense.

5.3.3 Administrators

Although administrators are not in classrooms with students every day, they play a

vital role in establishing how effectively their school community is run. By ensuring

police officers are consistently maintaining a positive and regular appearance around the

school, Heather and Joanne have found that students are less likely to take part in cyber-

bullying activities on the school grounds. Police officers are able to help support and

educate students about the legal consequences connected to cyber-bullying.

Not only should administration be using other resources but they should also be


ensuring a clear presence around the school themselves. If students and administration

are able to develop a positive, trusting relationship with each other, students are more

likely to feel comfortable sharing their concerns and feelings with the adults in the

school.

A final recommendation for administration is to create a cyber-bully awareness day

at the beginning of the school year, apart from bully awareness week that takes place the

third week of November and then ensure that this topic is regularly touched upon in

classroom and whole school activities. Assemblies, activities and workshops around the

school can set a tone for the school year that allows students to understand that cyber-

bullying will not be tolerated in their community.

All in all, the recommendations above are possible suggestions that the educational

community can choose to implement that have been shown to create a safe community

that proactively prevents cyber-bullying from ever taking root. It is important to realize

that given the small sample size of participants in this research study, the

recommendations are only a few of the possible suggestions that may be considered for

integration.

5.4 Areas for Further Research

While it is difficult to make generalizations based on two participants, my literature

review and analysis of data provided determined that students seem to strongly benefit

from a positive sense of community building an anti-bullying school environment.

Furthermore, if educators spend quality time building community, empathy and a

continuing growing knowledge of the effects of cyber-bullying, it is less likely to take


place in their classroom. However, more research needs to be conducted in regards to

parental involvement.

Since the research project was small scale and only addressed two educators, I was

unable to explore the involvement of parents in students’ education of online safety and

how persistent they are with seeing what is happening on their child’s technology

devices. In the future, a qualitative study should be done by interviewing parents of

students between grades four and eight to determine their involvement. A quantitative

study could also accompany the interviews with surveys to gain a larger sample size with

less open-ended questioning.

Additionally, this study only observed one educator from Trillium Lakelands

District School Board and one educator from York Region District School Board. Future

research should examine more school districts to determine their policies for educators

training on cyber-bullying in Ontario. Future educators would benefit from

understanding how all school districts deal with cyber-bullying. School districts can

learn from each other by collaborating ideas and professional development programming

that works. An analysis of each school board can help to develop an exceptional

programming across Ontario.

Apart from parental involvement and a range of school boards, mental health

workers or people who have expertise in identifying children who may be being bullied.

These professionals are another resource educators could have access to it they suspect

bullying and learn for what to look for. It would be naïve for me to believe that cyber-

bullying would be completely eliminated; therefore, educators also need to know what

signs may appear. Educators are trained to deal with cyber-bullying in a reactive way.


Finally, by further researching these three issues, educators can continue to develop

effective proactive programming to benefit the wellbeing and education of these students

in a time where they are constantly connected to the digital world.

5.5 Conclusion

I have learned an incredible amount through the process of my research. Having

the opportunity to research educators who are experienced in the field of proactively

preventing cyber-bullying has been truly humbling. This study has allowed me to learn

practical strategies I can implement within my current and future classrooms in order to

provide support to my students and my co-workers to discuss this issue openly and

facilitate a proactive approach to this societal problem.

Learning about these strategies has broadened my thinking and provided some

initial tools, approaches and strategies that I am comfortable utilizing and enhancing in

future classroom environments. I am convinced that community building and restorative

circles, combined with positive, frequent police presence will create safer environments

and change some stereotypical thinking around police figures and the role they play.

Additionally, these methods will begin to produce positive, trusting relationships

between persons of authority and the young minds we are charged with nurturing. This

open communication and wrap around community approach will grow and the respectful,

inclusive and empathetic culture we want to instill initially in primary school and

ultimately as students become global consumers will become part of the fabric of our

daily lives. Trusting environments that are intolerant of all types of bullying and

degradation will be the end result.


After conducting this research I am convinced I will strive to create a safe and

empathetic learning environment for my students and make that a priority in conjunction

with all other subject material in the curriculum. It is my intent to weave prevention

techniques into various parts of the curriculum such as Health, Drama and Literacy for

example. Strategies and tactics from both of my research topic participants will assist me

to become a better educator and to provide better support for my students all around.


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Appendix A - Consent Letter

Date:

Dear _______________,

My Name is Katherine Malcolm and I am a student in the Master of Teaching program at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto (OISE/UT). A component of this degree program involves conducting a small-scale qualitative research study. My research will focus on proactive prevention programs aimed at combatting cyber-bullying in the Ontario School Boards. I am interested in interviewing teachers who implement prevention education cyber-bullying into the formal curriculum. I think that your knowledge and experience will provide insights into this topic.

Your participation in this research will involve one 45-60 minute interview, which will be transcribed and audio-recorded. I would be grateful if you would allow me to interview you at a place and time convenient for you, outside of school time. The contents of this interview will be used for my research project, which will include a final paper, as well as informal presentations to my classmates and/or potentially at a research conference or publication. You will be assigned a pseudonym to maintain your anonymity and I will not use your name or any other content that might identify you in my written work, oral presentations, or publications. This information will remain confidential. This data will be stored on my password-protected computer and the only people who will have access to the research data will be my course instructor Dr. Eloise Tan. You are free to change your mind about your participation at any time, and to withdraw even after you have consented to participate. You may also choose to decline to answer any specific question. I will destroy the audio recording after the paper has been presented and/or published, which may take up to a maximum of five years after the data has been collected. There are no known risks or benefits to participation, and I will share with you a copy of the transcript to ensure accuracy.

Please sign this consent form, if you agree to be interviewed. The second copy is for your records. I am very grateful for your participation.


Sincerely,

Katherine Malcolm

Email: [email protected]

Course Instructor’s Name: Dr. Eloise Tan

Contact Info: [email protected]


Consent Form

I acknowledge that the topic of this interview has been explained to me and that any questions that I have asked have been answered to my satisfaction. I understand that I can withdraw from this research study at any time without penalty.

I have read the letter provided to me by Katherine Malcolm and agree to participate in an interview for the purposes described. I agree to have the interview audio-recorded.

Signature: ________________________________________

(Please place an X on the line if you agree the conditions described in this consent form)

Name: (printed) _______________________________________________

Date: ______________________________________


Appendix B - Interview Protocol

Interview Questions

Thank you for agreeing to participate in this research study. The study aims to

learn about proactive prevention techniques for cyber-bullying in middle schools in the

Trillium Lakelands District School Board and York Region District School Board. The

interview should take approximately 45-60 minutes and I will ask you a series of

questions about cyber-bullying, your thoughts, experiences, and techniques to prevent

this new phenomenon. I want to remind you that you may choose to not answer any

question you do not feel comfortable answering. Do you have any questions before we

begin?

Background

4. Can you tell me about your educational background?

a. What grades and subjects do you teach?

b. What grades and subjects have you taught in the past?

c. How long have you been a teacher?

d. What disciplines did you pursue?

e. What are your teachables?

1. Can you describe your school for me?

a. Size?

b. Demographics?

c. Program priorities?

d. What kind of protocols or programs do you have in place to support students who

have experienced cyber-bullying? What kind of policies do you have when faced with the


perpetrator of the cyber-bullying?

e. Does your school have a school-wide bully prevention policy?

1. You agreed to participant in this interview because you are committed to preventing

cyber-bullying within your classroom. Can you explain to me how you have

developed this interest and commitment?

a. What is your experience on cyber-bullying prevention?

b. How long have you implemented proactive cyber-bullying techniques in your

classroom?

c. What personal, professional, and educational experiences helped develop your

interest and commitment, and prepared you for this work?

5. Do you have any programs in your school community to educate students on the

negative effects of cyber-bullying?

Teacher Beliefs

1. What does cyber-bullying mean to you? What does cyber-bullying typically look

like? What behaviours do you associate with it?

2. What responsibility do you believe schools and teachers have for addressing cyber-

bullying and why?

3. What do you think are some of the reasons why cyber-bullying continues to be so

prevalent among children and youth? What do you believe schools can do to

minimize these incidences?

4. What do you believe are some of the greatest challenges to preventing and

minimizing cyber-bullying?

5. In your experience, at what age does cyber-bullying seem to be most prevalent?


Teacher Practices

1. What direct strategies do you use in your classroom when implementing cyber-

bullying prevention? Do you have any examples of an activity you use?

2. How do you incorporate cyber-bullying prevention and awareness within the

curriculum and cross-curricular programs? Can you give me a specific example of

how you address cyber-bullying in your formal curriculum (learning goals,

instructional strategies, outcomes you observe, and assessment)? (Looking for

subjects, grades and policies)

3. What subject do you find the most effective to implement cyber-bullying prevention

programs? Why do you find this subject the most effective?

4. What steps do you take proactively to minimize and prevent incidences of cyber-

bullying?

5. What do you do to prevent cyber-bullying when students are asked to use devices in

the classroom?

Supports, Challenges, and Next Steps

1. Do you have support or feedback from your school community?

2. What resources and instructional tools do you use in order to introduce cyber-bullying

prevention in your classroom?

3. Once you’ve implemented your programs, what outcomes do you observe inside and

outside the classroom and school regarding bullying behaviour? How do the students

react to these programs? What kind of feedback do you get from your students?

4. What challenges do you encounter (if any) and how do you respond to those

challenges?


a. How might the education system further support you in meeting these

challenges? What range of factors and resources support you in implementing a cyber-

bullying education program?

1. What advice, if any, do you have for beginning teachers committed to implementing a

cyber-bullying prevention education program in their teaching?

2. Any further comments? Thank you!

Documents

Implementing prevention programs to limit cyber …...bullying prevention and intervention plan and the progressive discipline plan” (Trillium Lakelands District School Board, 2014)